A New Arrangement
Once we emerged from the restaurant, we headed to the car Yeoeun had driven. Contrary to her glamorous image, the vehicle was surprisingly modest—a black, domestic-made sedan. It was a fully-optioned model of the type preferred by the average middle-class worker. No matter how closely I inspected it, it was a common sight on the streets; there was nothing particularly special about it. I wondered if she insisted on domestic brands or just preferred this style, but she answered before I could ask.
"If I drive a car that's too expensive to the studio, it just invites envy. Sometimes, it even attracts some very strange people."
"Ah..."
"Besides, sometimes I just pick a car from the garage based on my mood. Today, as you can see, I just felt like having a quiet, ordinary day."
'A car that would take me two years of saving to afford is "ordinary" to her... And she picks a different one every day.'
The image of the modern-day "young lady" returned in full force. The closer I got to her, the more I realized we lived in different worlds. Even if I tried not to be conscious of it, I couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated. Furthermore, this black sedan was currently heading toward my place. She had insisted on dropping me off, and I couldn't exactly refuse, so I’d plugged the address into the GPS.
"I have to make up for crashing your little gathering, don't I? I ruined it so thoroughly, I didn't have much of a choice."
Frankly, it hadn't been a "crash." It had been a helping hand extended to me while I was drowning in a living hell. She probably knew that deep down, too. The fact that she didn't make a big deal out of it and instead chose to be considerate made me feel her maturity as an older woman. Being with Yeoeun meant being constantly reminded of the allure of an older partner—
"Anyway, what the hell was that?"
The air in the car shifted instantly, her voice turning sharp and cold. She puffed out her cheeks, looking as if she couldn't comprehend the situation at all.
"Was that really the kind of gathering worth breaking our plans for? And an ex-girlfriend, of all people? Was she more important than our plans?"
"No! ...I only met her by chance the day before."
"Hmm~?"
She let out a nasal hum, clearly skeptical. "That makes even less sense. Wasn't I the one who made plans with you first?"
"..."
A bead of sweat trickled down my forehead at her precise point. In the end, I explained the brief incident from the day before without holding anything back, just to avoid any misunderstandings. I told her about the accidental encounter and how the schedule had been forced upon me by her one-sided pressure. I emphasized several times that there had been no room to refuse. Perhaps because she’d been seeing me so much lately, Yeoeun seemed to understand to some extent.
"Phew... who even agrees to such unreasonable demands? You really are just too kind for your own good, aren't you?"
"Well... 'kind' might be the wrong word. 'Pushover' is probably more accurate."
"Heh~"
At this, she pulled her red lips into a smile. "I love that you're so good at self-objectification, honey.♥"
"..."
Her shoulders trembled as she gripped the steering wheel, letting out a soft chuckle. Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, her playful tension returned immediately. After that, we shared some small talk, and the city scenery flew by as if the clock had been set to double speed. It was a short drive, but it was healing enough to make the events of the last two days fade from my mind.
Screech!
We arrived at the villa where I lived, which wasn't too far—only about thirty minutes by public transport—and she parked in the first-floor lot. After we arrived, I reflexively thanked her, but as I went to say the next thing, I swallowed my breath.
'Should I invite her in for a cup of coffee?'
It was the polite thing to do. Given that our relationship was still officially "friends," it was a natural flow. However, the first reason I couldn't easily extend the invitation was that I was worried about the state of my apartment. Had I cleaned the floor properly? Were my undergarments folded correctly? I was suddenly terrified of the "flesh-colored" videos stored on my laptop's D-drive. There was even a psychological hurdle: if I invited a woman into a bachelor's home so suddenly, she might think I was just another guy with dark, hidden intentions. ...Which, honestly, I did have. Every time I looked at her, desire boiled within me, but given how I’d been playing it cool, it would look incredibly fake.
Still, if I just hopped out and said, "Thanks for the ride," that would be a different kind of trashy. My head started to ache. With so many thoughts swirling, I could even hear ringing in my ears. After five seconds of agonizing, I finally spoke—
"Hey... do you want to come in for a cup of coffee? Oh! Just coffee, I promise! I don't intend to keep you long."
I tried to be as clear as possible that I didn't mean anything else. I told her while looking away, trying to avoid any misunderstanding, but Yeoeun, who had taken her hands off the steering wheel, said something completely different.
"Honey, not many people pass by here, do they?"
She turned her slender neck to check the surroundings. "Hm? ...Ah, well, as you saw, it's a narrow alleyway. I told you before, didn't I? This area gets really gloomy at night."
"True. At this rate, no one would know if something happened in the car."
"Right. ...................Wait, what did you just say?"
Instead of answering, Yeoeun pressed a button to turn off the engine. She looked into the rearview mirror, "pretending" to check the back, and then—
Grab!
"Ugh!?"
A surprise attack, like being bitten by a snake. I had been caught off guard by this sensation a few times before, so I was somewhat used to it. She had grabbed that place. But this time was different. *Heh.♥* This time, it was blatant. She curled her fingers into a ring and traced the outline of my manhood. This was no longer just a casual touch. Inside the car, she was explicitly fondling me.
"Y-Yeoeun?!"
"Hehehe... I felt it at the hotel, but it really is huge no matter how many times I touch it, honey.♥"
She was no longer pretending; she was openly commenting on the sensation. She wasn't a werewolf looking at a full moon, but she had suddenly transformed. One moment we were laughing and talking, and the next, her eyes were gleaming like a hungry wolf. She seemed to be salivating, too, as she swallowed and whispered, "Sssuuuup..."
"You know, I've respected your style until now, but—" *Gulp.♥* "Phew...♥ I don't think I can hold back anymore."
"S-suddenly— and here?!"
"Well, I have no choice. You might not have noticed, but I've already accumulated twenty yellow cards."
Unable to hold back, she leaned in, her signature perfume wafting over me. Along with the scent I’d grown so accustomed to, she began rubbing circles on my chest playfully. "From standing me up today, to your ex-girlfriend showing up, to what happened at the hotel... do you have any idea how frustrated I am that you keep staying in this 'in-between' position?"
"..."
As she poured out her heart, she leaned closer into the passenger seat. In the confined space where only the two of us existed, she shifted her hips and began to climb over me as if to devour me. "Do you have any idea how nerve-wracking it is for a sheep to keep wandering around defenseless in front of a wolf?"
"Hey..."
"Above all," she whispered, leaning in so close that her breath tickled my ear, "you think you're being so slick with your principles, but you're clearly struggling to hold back, aren't you?"
...Of course I was struggling. I was only eating one spoonful of this delicious-looking cake at a time. It was tasty every time it touched my tongue, and I was happy just looking at it, but I felt the same agonizing frustration. Honestly, I wanted to eat it with a ladle now. No, if she allowed it, I wanted to grab it with my hands and devour it. But even so—
"You know,"
"Y-yeah?"
Yeoeun, who had been about to pounce, suddenly stopped her rampage. She adjusted her hair, which had been crushed against the ceiling of the car as she climbed over me. She controlled her heavy breathing and looked down at me. "I really do respect you, you know? At first, I thought it was a stupid idea, but I've never had a man hold out against me like this before."
'...Does that mean none of them lasted even a week?'
"But if things go on like this, I think I'm going to die of frustration, so I came up with a compromise for us."
".........A compromise?"
*Heh.♥*
She smiled immediately. It was that seductive, fox-like grin she used whenever she wanted to bewitch someone. She caught her breath, which had quickened again, as if she were proud of her own idea. She rubbed my chest, teasing me, and whispered,
"Let's be sex friends.♥"
"...!"
My body froze at the word. "Sex friends"—a term I’d only ever heard of in internet stories. "I'll match your pace as the 'friend' you want, but in exchange, we'll enjoy sex together too.♥"
"B-but that's already not a friend..."
"Why? If we want to develop a better relationship and become lovers, we obviously need to check our sexual compatibility first, don't we?"
It was a dating style I’d only ever seen in American dramas. From the perspective of a traditional Confucian boy, the order was completely backwards, and it was hard to accept. I was conflicted. She had brought up a move I hadn't even considered, and my brain felt like tangled spaghetti. In the face of such powerful temptation, my desire to build a relationship carefully and slowly felt like a distant memory.
Lick, lick.♥
"Ugh!?"
Yeoeun licked my ear. She had moved nearly 80% into the passenger seat, using her pink tongue to lick around the inside of my ear. It was as if she were telling me to give up, to surrender. She was seducing me, pulling me in when I tried to hold onto my stubbornness.
"Honey, what's your answer?"
"..."
I had to answer. It had only been a week and a half since we met, but I had to tell her my honest feelings, which had been pushed to the limit. My answer to Yeoeun, who was being much more demanding than usual today, was—
"Is that okay?"
"..."
"Hmm... if you don't answer, I'll take that as mutual consent to move to the next level, okay?"
"..."
"Hehehe.♥"
—An answer wasn't necessary. I no longer had the resolve to push away such a lovely creature. In the face of the violent wording of "sex friends" and the soft skin touching my body, I didn't have the confidence to convince her of the "precious and normal" relationship I had in mind.
"Finally, you've finally broken your stubbornness, honey.♥"
Moreover, there was that innocent, childlike face. It was the look of pure joy, like a child who had finally gotten a toy after begging their parents for days. I couldn't refuse her when she looked so happy. Once things reached this point, Yeoeun hummed a tune and returned to the driver's seat with ease. She got out of the car as if every second counted, pulled me out, and stuck to my side as I stumbled out. Now, she slipped her arm between my chest and hers more naturally than ever.
"Come on! Let's go into your place, honey.♥"
".........Okay."
We headed to my place, the atmosphere still heated from the car. Seeing that it would be difficult to take things further in the vehicle, she had lured me into my home. We were entering my house together, having evolved into a higher level of relationship. I was bringing Yeoeun into my home as a "sex friend," a step up from being a simple friend. In truth, this strange relationship, which I was experiencing for the first time in my life, hadn't quite settled in my mind yet, but—
'Just... I'll just become an American.'
I emptied my mind. I decided to empty my thoughts, throw my Confucian spirit into the trash, and become an American.